An investigation into the attitudes of superintendents toward the North Carolina Mentoring Program for Teachers

Abstract

With the passage of the Excellent Schools Act in 1997, North Carolina launched an educational reform movement characterized by five major initiatives. One of these initiatives focused on improving the quality of both teachers and administrators. The Initial Licensure Program, based on the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium Standards (INTASC Standards) for novice teachers, was designed to provide a supportive induction process for new teachers in North Carolina. This improved induction process was designed to result in reduced teacher attrition and enhanced novice teacher skills. The North Carolina Mentoring Program for Teachers, providing a mentor for novice teachers during the Initial Licensure Program, is a part of this process. ^ One hundred and seventeen North Carolina public school superintendents were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward the effectiveness of the North Carolina Mentoring Program for Teachers. The survey contained three sections. The first section, written in a Likert-scale format, contained thirty items to examine superintendents' attitudes. The second section contained demographic questions. The third section contained two open-ended questions. ^ The information collected through this survey was used to examine whether a relationship exists between superintendents' attitudes toward the North Carolina Mentoring Program for Teachers and the teacher attrition rates within their respective school systems. Possible relationships between superintendents' attitudes, and specific demographic data were examined as well. Two open-ended questions were used to record the benefits of the program and to suggest recommendations for change. ^ An examination of the data collected revealed the following findings. A statistically significant relationship existed between attrition rates and one item. Two demographic characteristics, ethnicity and years of experience, were statistically significant on a total of six items. The third and fourth research questions revealed positive attitudes toward the North Carolina Mentoring Program for Teachers. Recommendations for improvement included extra funding, more accountability in mentoring services, and an emphasis on leaders' attitudes toward program implementation. ^

Subject Area

Education, Administration|Education, Teacher Training

Recommended Citation

Barbara Morgan Walters,
"An investigation into the attitudes of superintendents toward the North Carolina Mentoring Program for Teachers"
(January 1, 2002).
ETD Collection for Fayetteville State University.
Paper AAI3345782.
http://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/dissertations/AAI3345782